EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Includes exclusive video of an interview with former Los Angeles Kings goaltender Kelly Hrudey on March 8, 2013.

Kelly Hrudey
Photo courtesy CBC

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The blue bandana that so many remember him by is long gone, but fans of the Los Angeles Kings who go back to the time that Wayne Gretzky wore the team’s black, white and silver jersey with the “chevron” logo will remember goaltender Kelly Hrudey, who will be honored by the team during pre-game ceremonies tonight, when they host the Calgary Flames (7:00 PM PST, Staples Center).

Hrudey, now 52, expressed some embarrassment about tonight’s festivities.

“[It’s] kind of embarrassing,” he said. “Nobody thinks that when you see all the great players that have played in this organization that somehow they’re going to choose you, that you’re going to be honored. So I’m very, very excited, very humbled. It’s hard to put into words.”

“Kings President/Business Operations Luc [Robitaille, who was a teammate of Hrudey’s with the Kings] told me last year in the playoffs that they’re going to do something for me this year, and I thought, ‘that’s really cool,’” he added. “Then, when he called me in the summer and told me the date, if there was not going to be a lockout, then it really started to sink in that this is really cool.”

The logos of the Los Angeles Kings, the 29 other National Hockey League teams, and of the National Hockey League, are trademarks of their respective rightsholders and are used with permission of the National Hockey League.